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Man held in Aruba sues over travel insurance claim

A Maryland man who was suspected in the presumed death of his traveling companion in Aruba is suing to collect on a travel insurance policy issued in the woman's name.

Gary Giordano said in a lawsuit that AMEX Assurance Company is required to pay him $3.5 million under the terms of a policy purchased before last summer's trip. He said in the suit that his companion, Robyn Gardner, is presumed dead following her Aug. 2 disappearance and that the insurance company has a "duty to pay the full death benefit" to him.

Giordano was held for months in an Aruban jail on suspicion of being involved in Gardner's disappearance, and the insurance policy's existence had caught the attention of investigators and prosecutors. But an Aruban judge ordered him released in November, saying prosecutors didn't have enough evidence to continue holding him.

Giordano has denied wrongdoing and said Gardner was swept out to sea as the two snorkeled off the southern tip of Aruba, though her friends and family have expressed doubt about that statement.

He said in the lawsuit that Gardner was covered under a July 27 policy that afforded $3.5 million in benefits in the event of accidental death or dismemberment.

Giordano told The Associated Press the lawsuit speaks for itself and declined further comment. The suit was filed Thursday in Cook County, Ill., where AMEX Assurance is based.

American Express Co. spokeswoman Gail Wasserman declined to discuss the specifics of the case, but she said policyholders generally have to wait one year before filing a claim in instances which a person is believed dead but a body has not been recovered.

"When somebody is trying to collect a policy of this type and the insured person is missing, there is a 365-day period to file a claim," she said. "We would have not accepted a claim before the 365th day because that's the parameter of the policy."

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